Nuno J G Piçarra

This study examined people’s moral judgments and trait perception toward a healthcare agent’s response to a patient who refuses to take medication. A sample of 524 participants was randomly assigned to one of eight vignettes in which the type of healthcare agent (human vs. robot), the use of a health message framing (emphasizing health-losses for not taking vs. health-gains in taking the medication), and the ethical decision (respect the autonomy vs. beneficence/nonmaleficence) were manipulated to investigate their effects on moral judgments (acceptance and responsibility) and traits perception (warmth, competence, trustworthiness). The results indicated that moral acceptance was higher when the agents respected the patient’s autonomy than when the agents prioritized beneficence/nonmaleficence. Moral responsibility and perceived warmth were higher for the human agent than for the robot, and the agent who respected the patient’s autonomy was perceived as warmer, but less competent an...

Browsing online ratings and viewers’ comments is an integral part of the experience of choosing and watching a movie. Current theories have broadened the concept of entertainment beyond amusement (hedonic motives) to include experiences of meaning, value, and self-development (eudaimonic motives). With a between-subjects design, we examined the role of reviewers’ ratings (medium rating vs. high rating), comments (hedonic vs. eudaimonic) and participants’ gratification styles on their interest in watching a movie. Results showed that participants (N = 383) reported a higher preference for the high rating movie. Results also revealed a match between comment type and individual gratification style, with participants with hedonic motives reporting more interest for the movie with hedonic comments, and those reporting eudaimonic motives for the movie with eudaimonic comments.

In this paper we propose to explore how a group of psychology students perceives two different instances of social robots (mechanic vs human) and how this affects their intention to work with a social robots in the future. Two studies were conducted. A multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were employed. Results show no effects for robots appearance. Previous attitudes towards robots predict anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism and desire show up as predictors of intention to work with robots.

Abstract Sharks are crucial to the marine ecosystem, but they are critically declining. Their bad public image explains, to some extent, the lesser concern for their conservation compared to other marine species. Extending previous research which has mainly focused on the study of attitudes towards sharks, we propose a two studies sequence, first by exploring the shark’s social representation, followed by an exploration of some stereotypical traits that may affect attitudes toward shark conservation. Study 1 specifically exploreed the social representation of sharks in a sample of zoo goers (N = 979). Main results showed that the representation was ambivalent and participants considered sharks as human predators. Surprisingly, findings showed that sharks were also seen as highly agentic and little communal animals. Consequently, Study 2 (N = 60) was designed to more thoroughly explore this gendered view as well as its implications in the attitudes and behavioral intention towards shark conservation. Results showed that, although sharks were again perceived as highly agentic, it was the perception of the sharks’ communality that was associated with more positive attitudes towards their conservation and a higher tendency to choose a shark conservation trust as first choice. Implications of studies 1 and 2 results for sharks’ conservation communication strategies and policies are discussed.

Movies offer viewers a broad range of emotional experiences, providing entertainment, and meaning. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we reviewed the literature on digital systems designed to help users search and browse movie libraries and offer recommendations based on emotional content. Our search yielded 83 eligible documents (published between 2000 and 2021). We identified 22 case studies, 34 empirical studies, 26 proof of concept, and one theoretical paper. User transactions (e.g., ratings, tags) were the preferred source of information. The documents examined approached emotions from both a categorical ( n = 35 ) and dimensional ( n = 18 ) perspectives, and nine documents offer a combination of both approaches. Although there are several authors mentioned, the references used are frequently dated, and 12 documents do not mention author or model used. We identified 61 words related to emotion or affect. Documents presented on average 1.36 positive terms and 2.64 negative ter...

The growing number of robotic solutions geared to interact socially with humans, social robots, urge the study of the factors that will facilitate or hinder future human robot
collaboration. Hence the research question: what are the factors that predict intention to work with a social robot in the near future. To answer this question the following sociocognitive models were studied, the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behavior and the model of goal directed behavior. These models purport that all the other
variables will only have an indirect effect on behavior. That is, through the variables of the model. Based on the research on robotics and social perception/ cognition, social
robot appearance, belief in human nature uniqueness, perceived warmth, perceived competence, anthropomorphism, negative attitude towards robots with human traits and
negative attitudes towards interactions with robots were studied for their effects on attitude towards working with a social robot, perceived behavioral control, positive
anticipated emotions and negative anticipated emotions. Study 1 identified the social representation of robot. Studies 2 to 5 investigated the psychometric properties of the
Portuguese version of the negative attitude towards robots scale. Study 6 investigated the psychometric properties of the belief in human nature uniqueness scale. Study 7 tested
the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Study 8 tested the model of goal directed behavior. Studies 7 and 8 also tested the role of the external
variables. Study 9 tested and compared the predictive power of the three socio-cognitive models. Finally conclusion are drawn from the research results, and future research suggestions are offered.
Keywords: Social robot, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, model of goal directed behavior, social robot appearance, socio-cognitive factors